A Mile In My Shoes
by Clarra-Night
Summary: Loki and Thor are sent to recapture some wild Asgardian creatures from Midgard. Thor, his friends and Odin need to take a moment to try understand the rationale behind Loki's plans.
1. Chapter 1

**Another Pre-Thor thang. Was planning to post this first chapter yesterday, but it took me several tries to realise it was too many words for the site to process for one chapter, apparently. So this story will be in smaller chunks than I'd originally planned, but hopefully that won't affect the reading too much since I'll be able to update it relatively rapidly.**

 **I hope your holiday season is safe and happy :) Even if that's just wishful thinking on my part, for some of you.**

 **Please feel free to constructively criticise! But I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"It lurks in the skies above a Midgardian ocean?"

Thor's tall voice fills the tall consult chamber from the bottom upwards, like strong ale poured into a stein. The afternoon sun stains the walls with amber through high, arched windows.

Odin says, "Heimdall will transport you as closely to the skuldagr as possible. I must speak to him again about the inter-world pathway it slipped through. Return it to Asgard alive if you can. Kill it if you can't. It's a danger to any mortals it may come across."

He adds a small smile, like a crack appearing in a grey mountainside. "I know I can trust you with this."

The Allfather's lone eye rests serenely on Thor's blue ones, which are lit with anticipation.

"I'll return soon with the foul beast wishing it had never fancied crossing Asgard's borders." Thor hefts Mjölnir in his palm. His cloak flutters behind him like crimson wings as he strides from the room.

Loki turns to the Allfather. He knows his expression is touched with uneasiness; he is glad no one else is in their company.

"Father," he hates how he always hesitates before addressing Odin. "Are you sure Thor's usual methods are… suitable for recapturing a skuldagr?" He also knows the question sounds condescending. But it is a mere starting point. If their father heeds him, it will be worth it.

Odin's gaze shifts to settle on him, as if to see the workings of his second son's brain. Loki knows this is no real study of Odin's – their father would doubt him a little less if it were. "You mean to tell me that you already know Thor's plan to bring it back?"

Loki selects a wording more polite and much less humorous than when he and Thor debate about their contrasting battle styles. "He nearly always turns to Mjölnir's power during confrontation, but skuldagrs are swift enough to dodge lightning bolts."

"I know they are one of Asgard's most fearsome creatures, Loki. As does he."

"This will be the first any Asgardian has faced in decades, and the very first for him, so Thor might not realise – "

"Which is why I sent him to handle this, to better teach him how to adapt his battle tactics." Odin says firmly, like a stone door closing shut. "Our other, less skilled warriors are needed elsewhere, and even without Mjölnir, do you not think him capable of recapturing one rogue beast?" The single eye continues pretending to study him.

Loki tempers his expression, tingeing it with the right amount of hurt. "No one looks up to him more than I, but – "

"So you can see he will deal with the creature admirably. Thor is learning a good leader must also do things himself, instead of sending an army marching for every tribulation. You do not wish to hinder your brother's preparation for kingship, do you?"

Over Odin's broad shoulder, the sunlight flares in Loki's vision. The room darkens briefly as he lets his gaze sink to the ground. "Of course not, Father."

After some moments, the imperial tone in the Allfather's voice recedes somewhat. "But if you worry for Thor's welfare, accompany him with your magic and your knowledge and ensure the beast is returned to our realm. Before it wreaks any havoc on Midgard."

With that, Odin makes his way out of the chamber. His echoing footsteps make the room sound completely empty. Loki allows himself a quick smile as he prepares to leave.

* * *

The sky above the Rainbow Bridge is soft, coloured with buttery yellow and pale blue. As always, it seems to blacken and thicken with stars beyond the Bifrost. Thor listens to the muted timbre of his own footfalls on the bridge's glassy surface as he approaches Heimdall.

Only the gatekeeper's mouth moves when he speaks in his baritone voice. The rest of him remains motionlessly vigilant as ever, like he is carved from the same golden steel as the Bifrost behind him. "I hear you must return the loose skuldagr from Midgard."

Thor grins. "You hear correctly. Do you see it?"

Heimdall's gold eyes appear to flicker to something in the far distance. "It is, as the Allfather said, still flying above an ocean on Earth. The winds and waters there are currently too wild for humans to travel, so you will have a clear battleground."

"Then this should prove simpler than I thought." Thor follows the armoured giant into the near-dusky shelter of the Bifrost. The yawning gateways churn and pulse furiously with their strange concoction of colour and darkness. The brilliant light glances wildly off Heimdall's broadsword as he prepares to unlock the entry into Midgard.

"Be ready to stay aloft," the gatekeeper intones. "Where I must place you, the only solid ground is an abandoned Midgardian platform that once was used for drawing oils from the seabed."

Thor nods, spinning Mjölnir's handle in his palm almost subconsciously. With that, Heimdall drives his blade downwards into the Bifrost's centre, sending chaotic veins of light dancing around him as if instead of blood splattering from a wound. Thor is temporarily dazzled when more light from the gateway leaps forward to swallow him whole, dragging him all the way down to Earth.

* * *

The first thing Thor really appreciates when he pierces Midgard's borders is the wind.

When the roar of the Bifrost's gateway ceases, the ocean wind continues whistling and howling so wildly that for a second Thor thinks several shrieking skuldagrs already surround him. The air sands the back of his throat with the scent of sea salt, and whips his face and hands with cold.

He had slammed feet-first onto the hard floor of a bizarre, floating contraption that Heimdall had said had been used for deriving something from the ocean bed. What look like miniature metal towers poke out of his makeshift landing ground, and the whole structure sways faintly from side to side with the tumultuous waves. The surface he stands on is large enough for the Bifrost's runes to imprint upon in a perfect circle.

The Midgardian sun had set, and nightfall has started to bruise the water into waves of dark ink in all directions around him. The waters that skirt Asgard's city and outer lands are impressive and probably far deeper than any of Midgard's. But there is something about this horizon's flatness, unmarred by a colossal, brightly lit citadel, that makes Thor think fleetingly of how lonely it would be to drown there.

Blinking away the stinging gales, he begins scouring the sky above with narrowed eyes. Thick billows of pearl-grey clouds scud the darkening canvas, threatening a storm that would be feeble against any that Thor could raise.

As he searches, Thor recalls the illustrations of flying skuldagrs he and his friends had seen in old books from past schooling. The detailed strokes and washes of coloured inks had shown a serpentine creature with greyish hide in wingless flight. They can convolute themselves into grotesque coils, otherwise soaring straight as spears after their prey. Thor thinks the head and forelegs vaguely resemble those of the dragons in some Midgardian novels that Loki had shown him before. Every interpretation he has ever seen of skuldagrs has given them distinctly savage expressions.

Then, in the distance behind him, he hears a strange, rippling screech slice through the bawling tempest. It is a tortured, animalistic keening that befits something scraggly and wounded. It sounds more terrified than terrifying. Thor smiles.

Seconds later, just beneath the cathedrals of clouds, he is airborne – one of his favourite sensations – with Mjölnir raised and cape being snagged by the harsh tempest. He lets the energy start thrumming through Mjölnir, and lightning gathers with bone-trembling crackles in the bellies of the nearby blackening clouds. He flies to meet the source of the oncoming scream.

Even in the nighttime gloom, Thor recognises the snake-like creature from the books. He estimates it is only the length of a four-man rowboat, its ashen hide camouflaging it against the sky. Its fanged maw distorts with murderous resolve as it arrows towards him. Thor might have seen a similar expression when Volstagg once watched Fandral eat the last morsel of roasted boar, or the first time Thor had asked Sif during sparring if she wanted respite before the rest of them did.

"You don't scare anyone," he mutters. Moments before they would have collided, he lashes out the building electricity. A ragged torrent of blue-white lightning obediently drops from above, scorching the air. Thor catches what looks like blank shock in the skuldagr's flat eyes, just as the lightning erupts. He almost laughs.

As the air clears, Thor alights upon one of the steely masts jutting up from the sea-borne platform. The oscillation of the waves is even more pronounced up there. Mjölnir in one hand and holding onto the metal with the other, he combs the sky and sea for a limp, twisted figure. Nothing.

Where is it?

The only noise is from the ever-howling wind and crashing waves. The rays falling from Midgard's pale sliver of a moon reveals no creature other than himself. Suddenly, his bare skin is being pelted with pinpricks of chilly wetness, and thunder that is not his own is reverberating through the labyrinth of clouds. Icy droplets begin gathering at the ends of his hair.

Where is it?

A flicker of movement dances in his vision's periphery, amidst the fresh rain and higher clouds several dozen yards before him. The skuldagr worms itself into a slow, exaggerated knot, keeping its saucer-like eyes fixed on him. Its hide does not even look like it is scorched. Its squeal fills the space between them again, and now to Thor it sounds more like laughter.

"Ridiculous." Thor narrows his eyes and hefts Mjölnir higher.

He wastes no time, tearing towards the shrilling beast again through the freezing gale, which assaults his face like bitter knives. He lets more lightning flay the air around him like a second cloak, and flings a blazing Mjölnir forward. The roiling scream still crowds Thor's ears as the skuldagr's scrutiny of him continues to burn.

This time he actually sees it manoeuvre. So rapidly that the movement may have not occurred at all, it warps its body into another knot with gaps that the branches of Thor's lightning simply passes through, leaving the creature untouched. Thor's heart thuds. Then its clawed foreleg darts at his throat.

Instinctively, Thor throws his forearm upwards, wrenching the limb to the side and feeling the serrated claws try reave through his bracer. He notes its foreleg movements are not as fast as the rest of its winding figure. Which is impossibly quick. He swings Mjölnir up to catch its jaw, only managing to graze it as it snaps its head out of the way. He shoots his other fist at the softer underside of its exposed throat, pleased when he hears it gag.

Then its spiny dark tail whips around his neck and tightens irresistibly –


	2. Chapter 2

He grimaces as the spines and scales scrape his skin –

– until the tail loosens just as suddenly, when a flash of fiery energy engulfs the beast's head like a hellish halo –

– while he hears its renewed scream, which finally sounds unnerved –

Not missing his chance, Thor promptly slams Mjölnir into its dense chest. Through the stinging raindrops in his eyes, he sees it immobilise momentarily – a rain-spattered granite statue in midair – before its stunned eyes droop shut and it falls limply into the raging black ocean below.

He propels himself with Mjölnir back to the floating platform, landing inside the circle of Bifrost runes. He loves flying, but the solid ground beneath his boots is a welcome respite.

 _What incapacitated it before its tail could throttle me?_ The thought of more escaped monsters nearby injects a further dose of anticipation into his veins. A distinct movement to his right makes him pivot to face it, more lightning already charging through Mjölnir.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't."

A figure much smaller than a skuldagr stands beside him, eyes locked on the limp animal being tossed by the waves. Dressed in black to the wrists and throat, and drenched hair looking like glossy ink plastered to a pale face. Loki's hands are still bright with the same light that had enveloped the creature's head earlier. He beckons. Thor watches the skuldagr obediently speed across the ocean surface like a sack of rocks dragged behind a cart, halting a few feet from of their temporary base. It floats on the water like a massive pile of sluggish rope.

"It's only unconscious, but it will stay here that way until we are ready to leave." If his brother were not right next to him, Thor doubts he would hear Loki's voice over the storm. Loki gives him the shrewd smile that follows whenever Thor pretends he is not startled by Loki's presence.

As he lowers Mjölnir, a grin stretches his cold cheeks. "What brings you on this mission, Brother?"

"Father agreed that I join you."

Thor claps Loki's narrow shoulder, which is slick with rainwater. "And we succeeded in conquering the brute. Now all that is needed is to call for Heimdall to bring it and ourselves back to Asgard."

Loki shakes his head. "Heimdall says that six more managed to slip through the same pathway this one did before Father had it sealed. They'll be nearby."

Thor squints up through the needle-like rain at the hazy blackness. "First we need to find them amidst this weather. Although I'd say their pitiful cries are audible for miles around."

"Like you, skuldagrs tend to seek fights. If they see us, we won't need to search long."

Thor glances at him, noticing Loki's stance is still casual, and that he has not even taken out his dagger.

"Then we should concentrate on locating the beasts before they can surprise us," Thor exclaims. "And how do you hope to fend them off without your knives, Brother?"

"A knife won't do as much good as my magic will, against something so fast. Also, when I arrived, I concealed us and this first creature from other living things here, so we have time to plan properly."

"Our plan is simple," Thor says. "With Mjölnir and your magic, we force the fiends into submission and then have Heimdall transport us all home."

Loki nods thoughtfully. "That's crafty. Sophisticated. So we should return to Asgard roughly around next month. Possibly without the skuldagrs."

Thor raises his eyebrows. "Are these beasts so unlike other fiends we've overcome?"

"You've just experienced it for yourself, Thor. They are faster than you probably expect." Loki's eyebrows knit together seriously. "It's no exaggeration they can weave around lightning in a storm. Creating a hurricane to catch them would take too long before they attacked, and they would stay out of it anyway. They're also vicious. They chase their prey anywhere to slaughter it."

The solemnity of Loki's reply automatically pulls Thor's mouth into a smile of reassurance, altering the route of the raindrops sliding down his cheeks. "But we are not prey. I have faced nearly all manners of dangerous creatures with you and our friends. Speed is only one element to worry about. The monsters will soon realise the might of Mjölnir is another. Besides, what kind of warriors would we be if we shied away from doing battle with one species because it's _fast_?"

Loki lifts his eyebrows. "I emphasise caution, not cowardice."

"Caution has kept us from this task long enough," Thor argues. "If you cast us visible again so they will reveal themselves, we can finish this sooner."

"Six is too many for us to try subdue in the same way we did the first one. I only managed that because you were effectively distracting it by being strangled by its tail – "

"But you'll recall that I delivered the final blow – "

"But otherwise, they're too fast." Loki speaks over him. "It would take both of us to stop one, while the others would attack. We need a different tactic."

"You spend too much of your time dawdling on tactics, Loki." Thor grins to take the bite out his words. "Besides, do you not think us capable of recapturing some wild beasts?"

"That's similar to what Father said, but – "

"Then surely you should also have confidence in our ability to do this." Thor counters. Loki's expression says he regrets mentioning Odin's opinion. Thor smiles.

"Remove this invisibility spell from me, and I will defeat at least some of the six," he presses. "You can stay hidden and just watch, if you prefer."

Loki does not even widen his eyes in surprise before narrowing them irritably. "I have no intention of letting you try alone, Brother. But if you're so certain you can, at least let me draw their attention with an illusion before revealing you."

At last, they are getting somewhere. "Very well, then."

Loki's annoyed gaze sits on him a second longer before Thor sees his thin hand curl into a fist. He almost believes Loki is about to try striking him, just when the space between them abruptly appears to distort, the light and colours shifting. Thor watches a perfect reflection of himself materialise. The illusion watches the rest of the world calmly, with a crimson cape pretending to buffet in the wild gusts.

This is not the first time Loki has crafted illusions of either of them – magic practice, a few bygone battle strategies, and countless acts of mischief had let Loki master the skill. _One of these days,_ Thor had once said, _I will no longer be surprised if you simply vanish when I tackle you or touch your shoulder._ Loki had shrugged, saying he would be surprised if Thor ever stopped falling for the trick.

The pseudo-Thor rapidly swings its hammer around in its hand in preparation for flight, and then they watch it shoot skyward.

Loki says, "Be ready the act quickly. It won't take them long to arrive."

They barely wait an entire minute.

The familiar screeching soon abrades the air such that even the sound of rain does not soothe it. Thor thinks he will see them advancing in the distance starting as specks before they reach the illusion flying above. Rather, he sees six large grey streaks appear from apparently only a yard away, arrowing towards the mirage. The false Thor – just a flash of red, high above – darts out of their reach in a wild, zigzagged chase.

"I would not be so spineless, Brother," Thor snorts.

"They need not know that," Loki says absently, concentrating on controlling his magic in the pursuit above. "No offence meant, but I doubt they've heard of the mighty Thor. Go, now."

Thor tries to watch for a skuldagr to separate from the other five, but it is like trying to eye a single wasp amid an entire agitated swarm. Muscles charged with impatience, Thor simply launches himself upward to join the fray. Loki's voice murmurs, "be careful" before he is out of earshot.

* * *

Keeping the Thor-illusion away from the six creatures' grasps is like keeping a powerful magnet untouched in a blacksmith's workshop. It is easiest by making the pseudo-Thor fly straight, staying ahead of them, and then turning it around sharply before the chase gets too far away for Loki to see. He tries to simultaneously keep an eye on his real brother, who is gaining on the last skuldagr in the pack.

Then –

"Oh, you're jesting, right, Thor?" He mutters.

Thor had summoned another claw of lightning from above the trailing skuldagr – if a skuldagr's movement can ever be described as trailing – to force it into temporary pause as it curves itself around the tongues of electricity. But then Loki watches as Thor darts in closely to strike with Mjölnir – no sooner does his favourite imbecile raise his hammer that the skuldagr's tail quickly finds its way around his throat.

It is like déjà vu, seeing Thor in its stranglehold, except Loki knows absolutely he has seen this a few minutes earlier. He sighs before concentrating more burning energy in his palms, aiming a nimbus of it at the creature's head like before. Thankfully, skuldagrs become so absorbed once holding their prey that the one attacking Thor is relatively motionless. It makes the same rattling shriek as the first before dropping into the ocean like a dead fly. Loki had let his illusion and the other five skuldagrs fly eastward for quite some distance meanwhile. He leads them around again before raising an arm to beckon Thor back, also flinging his magic out to re-cloak his brother and the second unconscious creature now floating in the ocean.

"Idiot." He says this more for his own benefit, since it will not reach Thor's ears several yards away in the battering rainstorm. His expression probably relays the message anyway when his brother flies closer and lands beside him. Raw red grazes and purpling bruises decorate the skin of Thor's throat like a necklace.

"I hate to say 'I told you so' – "

Thor grunts, "No, you don't."

"Maybe we _could_ keep doing this until we incapacitate them all, since your neck is one of the thickest parts of your body," Loki continues. "I'm sure it can endure the remaining five."

"How was I to know this one would also try garrote me with its tail?" Thor asks tetchily. He stares out into the thrashing ocean instead of looking at Loki, although Loki guesses it is because using his neck is now too uncomfortable.

"How have you survived this long without learning from past experience?" Loki mutters.

"This is only my second encounter with the monsters."

"I meant in life in general, but never mind," Loki shakes his head. "Thor, clearly, like you would have noticed in the first confrontation, they're too fast to defeat in close proximity. This second time, you should have thrown Mjölnir from afar instead after distracting it with lightning."

"A meagre graze upon my throat will not stop me from finishing this," Thor answers. He raises an eyebrow as he speaks, but still cannot make use of his neck to look at Loki. Loki bites the inside of his cheek to quash a brief smile. "I just wasn't expecting it then," Thor adds.

"As I said, you clearly don't learn from past experience."

"I've no doubt _you_ would sustain injury too, if you actually faced it in the way I did."

"I have protected you from them _twice_ now," Loki reminds him edgily. "And – "

"From a distance, like a deserter."

"– it's established that the way _you_ faced them was stupid."

They do have time to argue, concealed as they are, but Loki feels the old argument – _Loki, you should fight like a true warrior for once –_ poking at an already-chafed part of his brain. He focuses on the cold rain pattering against his cheeks and forehead for a moment, by means of dousing any uprising annoyance. The rain is the only side of his brother's storms that is calming.

"Why don't you figure out what else to do then if you're so brilliant?"

"Why didn't you agree to that earlier?" Loki sends the Thor-illusion hurtling behind the nearest wall of black clouds before vanishing it. The five skuldagrs tear five holes in their pursuit through the cloud like darts through paper. Their confusion manifests in the shakes of their dragon-like heads.

"Very well." Thor taps his boot impatiently against a line that composes part of the circle of Bifrost runes, making little _splat_ noises in the puddles. "Or we can simply stay concealed whilst I distract them one by one with lightning, so that I may fly around them and throw Mjölnir _from afar_?"

"Hm, we could. But I've got a quicker way. One that's more fun for me."

Thor grumbles, "You and Mother used to say that it should be no entertainment to triumph in battle" but at least he is listening.

"They've marred you twice now," Loki begins, at which Thor opens his mouth to retort again.

"Which makes for part of the plan, Brother." Loki says sternly to deflect the interruption.

"Skuldagrs can swim too, because they prey also on surface sea creatures in Asgard. If I lure the five into the water with an illusion of you falling, injured, _then_ you strike the water with lightning while they're submerged. They can't dodge that."

He watches with satisfaction as Thor pauses. Thor only says, "Hm."

Loki adds, "Before you attack, you'll have to wait until all five are submerged. Any remaining skuldagr probably won't fall for it again. Leave none conscious."

Thor squints upwards at the bleak jungle of clouds and rain. The shrilling of the skuldagrs has faded with distance, leaving only the sounds of rain and wind to pelt them. "And then we call for Heimdall to send them unconscious back to their habitat in Asgard," Thor finishes.

"Yes."

Thor shuffles with Mjölnir's handle in his palm.

"So, Thor?" Loki prods.

"What, Loki?" Thor looks slightly miffed.

"Do you find this proposal lacking at all?"

"…No."

"Really? We will stay hidden the whole time. There's no need for direct hitting, or shouting, and we won't even need to return them to their home with our bare hands."

Thor looks considerably more irked. "Are you trying to make a point?"

"No. I just want to make sure you're not worried the fauna will think you're spineless."

"Loki?"

"Thor. What?"

"Can you please get into the water too when I use the lightning?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reads and reviews so far! (:**

* * *

Thor twirls the handle of Mjölnir in his hand for the dozenth time as he stares at the dense hedge of storm clouds the illusion had last disappeared behind.

"Ready?" His brother asks.

"Always."

"Just remember to wait until all five are immersed and to get them all simultaneously."

"That won't be a problem, Brother."

There is the flash of vivid red that is Thor's cape, like blood, or war paint. But when it appears this time, it looks pathetic – Thor watches 'himself' touch the wounds at his throat as if unable to breathe, struggling to stay aloft. Loki holds it airborne just long enough to elicit that rapacious keening, which seem to arrive from behind more thickets of darkly churning clouds.

"I think I'm much taller than that," Thor comments. Loki just smiles. The pseudo-Thor eventually plummets into the inky waters.

They watch the beasts rip through the storm as five grey streaks. They hurtle straight at the fallen body being tossed by the sea's temper. Their flight cannot be described as steep – their nosedives are simply vertical, towards their 'prey' with shrieks like the crescendo of a manic orchestra.

"Remember, all five – "

Thor rolls his eyes and raises Mjölnir. "I _know_ , Loki."

The skuldagrs crash into the waves, their tails whipping side to side to propel themselves, maws open –

The image of an unconscious Thor flickers –

And they both say:

"Now."

The blood surges in Thor's ears in the same second that Mjölnir surges with fresh energy. The bruised sky cracks into pieces, blistered open by light. Thor always finds the deafening _bang_ of thunder a strangely reassuring sound – signaling the arrival of something strong enough to wipe out most enemies in one swoop, comparable in a way to Frigga's old lullabies, or a security blanket. He lets no fewer than twelve forks of blue-white electricity hit the ocean surrounding the distracted skuldagrs. Mushrooms of steam erupt where the lightning touches the briny surface, electricity hums through the tortured water, and a thousand raindrops are vaporised. Through the bone-shaking clamour, Thor can pick out when the screeches shift from predatory to panicky.

"Thor, it would be best if you did not kill them." Loki reminds from beside him.

Thor figures the creatures should be debilitated enough that he can attack again if they are not yet unconscious. He retracts the vibrant power suffusing the sky and water, lowering Mjölnir and feeling the air sizzling. The last flickers of light dance across the dark waves before dying, while five pale, serpentine lumps drift limply in the distance.

* * *

"My apologies for sending you two on such a trivial assignment, but this one necessitated your lightning and flight, Thor. I thank you both for undertaking this." Odin pats Thor's armoured shoulder and nods at Loki. "Save for a few bruises around Thor's neck, Heimdall tells me you two rounded up the seven creatures quite neatly."

The cold moons had replaced the sun in Asgard before Thor and Loki's return. The three of them stand in the same consult chamber that the Allfather had called Thor to before their task. It must be an odd sight, with Loki perfectly dry whilst rainwater still drips from Thor's hair, cape and legs to the polished floor. Thor had asked Loki to dry him too with his magic, but evidently if Loki cannot indulge in some form of paltry mischief during the errand itself, he will do so afterwards. Thor had noticed he was inexplicably even wetter only when they had entered the chamber – he just glared at his brother when the water dribbled down his chin every time he spoke. His sodden footsteps catch the moonlight to form a glistening trail behind him.

"These abrasions are unremarkable, Father," Thor says, wishing he stood close enough to kick Loki as he tries wiping his chin furtively. "We could have handled seven more easily."

"I know so," Odin replies. "Now that you have reported to me, Loki, perhaps you would stop making your brother's mouth birth an ocean?" This nearly makes Thor laugh but he does not want a mouthful of liquid to splatter the floor.

"Yes, Father." Loki is biting the inside of his cheek to prevent any smiling, but he pats Thor's other shoulder with a gloved hand. With each of the three taps, Thor feels the excess water seep from his skin, hair and clothes into nothingness, leaving him comfortably dry.

"May we leave now?" Loki asks, tapping his boot silently to vanish the puddles Thor had dripped.

"One last thing, boy." Like the puddles, Odin's blue eye catches the soft moonlight, but turns it sharp, still watching Loki. Thor pauses at the last word, whilst Loki nearly flinches. "Explain to me how exactly you smuggled seven skuldagrs into Midgard."

…What?

Confusion erupts in Thor after a heartbeat. It is clear in Loki's moon-stained eyes that his little brother's internal reaction is similar.

"What do you mean, _Loki_ let the beasts out of Asgard?" Thor lets his words and perplexity ricochet around the shadowy chamber walls.

"What are you accusing me of, Father?" Loki hedges cautiously, curiously. His and Thor's reactions to their father usually diverged there – Thor would pelt Odin with insistent requests for explanation while Loki edges forward carefully. Odin's eye gleams again, though Thor cannot tell with what feeling. Thor gazes from Loki to Odin, wishing one of them would volunteer more information. He opens his mouth to vocalise the request.

"You very well know what I accuse you of, boy," Odin steadily repeats the discomfiting title – there is King, Prince, Son, and then there is Boy – before Thor can speak. "In addition to the teamwork you two showed in returning the beasts, Heimdall _also_ told me of your luring them out in the first place."

Odin leans forward towards Loki almost imperceptibly. Thor hears the underlying wrath in their father's voice. "Will you deny it and lie again?"

* * *

Loki wants to curse. He holds his lips together firmly instead, until he is sure his next words are more palatable.

He clearly had overestimated himself. Apparently, he has mastered concealment magic against all _except_ the one whom he needed to hide from. Loki must have slipped up at some point, with the strain of additionally drawing the skuldagrs through his illegal gateway.

Odin and Thor search his face warily.

He still feels like swearing.

* * *

The Allfather is never mistaken, but surely he is mistaken. Thor waits with increasing impatience and puzzlement for Loki to tell Odin this, and that he played no part in the skuldagrs' admission to Earth. But he watches Loki only purse his lips and look up at Odin warily.

"Loki, you harried me constantly about how dangerous they are, so you surely would not release the beasts into Midgard even for one of your jokes, would you?" Thor says, letting his bewilderment tilt his sentence so it did not sound truly rhetorical. Loki only glances at him automatically, as Thor speaks, but returns his attention to the Allfather. Their father appears to be calculating with his cool eye some invisible quantity in his younger son. It apparently is not a very favourable one.

"Will you allow me to explain, Father?" Loki says. He sounds as uncertain as Thor feels, though not confused. And he always looks so much smaller under Odin's eye.

"For your own sake, it is fortunate you are a wordsmith, Loki," Odin responds. "Because you had better make it convincing."

* * *

The upcoming meeting with the princes from Vanaheim.

This meeting, on which Odin had mentioned he was considering sending Thor alone.

Asking Thor how he intended to handle it, what he planned to say.

Being concerned but unsurprised at Thor's response.

 _Thor, you have to reconsider that._

 _We cannot spin silver words forever like you can, Loki. Diplomacy is not always the answer._

 _It is a better answer than yours. For_ this.

 _Asgard is still the more powerful kingdom and in no need of Vanaheim's interference. I simply intend to make that clear at this discussion._

 _They offend easily. This is too delicate a situation for –_

 _Making it all the easier to assert our realm's authority._

Loki would love Thor's confidence – love its place in his brother, love being able to possess it too – if only it were coupled with caution.

 _Thor, listen –_

 _Know your place, Brother._

Thor did not even particularly care to go, anyway. Thor had always told Loki he found the gatherings so wearisome. Loki knew.

How much more careless might that make Thor during the attendance? How much more dangerous for the rest of Asgard?

Loki found out the more elegant discussion and outcome that their mother wished for the meeting. If only Thor could not attend in her and Odin's stead, all that would be needed to convince her to go is a circumstantial nudge...

So Thor coincidentally was assigned to returning some stray skuldagrs too fast in flight for anyone else in Asgard to handle with their handheld weapons. Frigga met with the princes instead, Loki made sure. Everything was proceeding smoothly.

But then Loki had to mess it up.

He wishes he could be angry at Heimdall, but the Gatekeeper had only served his duty to Asgard. Nor can he be angry at the Allfather. Or Thor. Only himself.

As he explains, he meets Thor's eyes – blue, and bright with lamplight and moonlight – only once. He sees hurt and betrayal dawning after the confusion, and struggles to keep the pleading note out of his voice as he prattles on, circumventing the Allfather's biting interruptions where he can in his attempt to get his whole story in first.

He still feels like swearing.


	4. Chapter 4

Thor silently listens to Loki launch into a story of the convoluted logic that he would always recognise as only his brother's.

He silently listens as Loki speaks of the gathering with the princes of Vanaheim that had been scheduled for earlier today. Which Thor had all but forgotten in light of the new task of rounding up stray Asgardian _fauna_.

Thor had thought he had been doing a good deed, by doing that.

Thor listens as Loki tells Odin – Loki had thought he had been doing a good deed, by sending the beasts and lying to everyone.

Thor gets the feeling that Loki would direct the explanation at him too, if only Loki could bring himself to look at his older brother. As it were, Loki's eyes darken, because they mostly stay lowered to an insignificant patch of floor at Odin's feet.

As Loki speaks, Thor cannot help the indignation and betrayal he feels slowly solidifying in his gut.

Why did Loki really want to prevent him from joining the meeting?

Why was his way of handling diplomatic situations so wrong in Loki's eyes?

Why could Loki not for once stand back for Thor to step towards kingship, without mischief-making, without meddling, without _manipulating_ the circumstances as he deemed fit?

Thor loves his brother. He knows selflessness and honour have their place somewhere in Loki's character. He does not want to believe it of Loki: that envy lurks close behind every congratulation Loki gives him, every time Thor's achievements bring him closer to a reign that will make their parents proud. Because Thor loves his brother.

But sometimes Loki makes it so _difficult_.

* * *

Of course, only _after_ he reveals to Odin why he used the skuldagrs is the moment that Frigga, Volstagg, Sif, Hogun and Fandral enter the room.

Upon taking in the scene before them, Fandral and Volstagg's expressions morph into curiosity and concern for Thor. Sif and Hogun both a grim mistrust, not veiled by the back-brown-grey in either pair of eyes. The elaborate spirals of her flaxen-coloured hair frame Frigga's wary concern.

They will only witness the Allfather's furious yelling and the indignation on Thor's face, which Loki still cannot quite look at.

Not that it would make much difference.

* * *

Thor hears a cluster of footsteps from behind him. Without glancing over his shoulder, he knows by the look on Loki's face that their friends have entered. There is also a deeper hint of shame surfacing in Loki's eyes that does make Thor glance – Frigga is also there, haloed by starlight and with the nighttime shadows bowing at her feet. She looks slightly anxious, shrewdly eyeing Odin and her two sons.

But Thor only directs his thoughts at Loki:

Can you not trust me with these things?

Why not?

* * *

Loki has gathered quite an impressive compendium of Odin's furious reprimands.

But when Loki overlays his memories of them all, very few parts stick out individually, like silhouettes of the exceptionally tall trees of an otherwise uniform forest. For the most part, they all share the same shapes, sizes. And subject matters, despite the broad range of Loki's acts that warranted discipline. He wonders if sometimes he commits such – he has been told – _weird_ offences to try elicit a different angle in Odin's criticism. Loki, you must try to second-guess others more often. You need to be sneakier. You need to be less like Thor.

"Loki, Thor needs experience in handling every situation as king, not merely the ones you deem him fit for."

It is as if the disappointment building inside the Allfather can only exit through his single blue eye, so it is all the more potent. So his voice is only harsh, with no disappointment to warm it (because – I believe you can be better).

"He does work with other royal parties, Father – "

(As well as angry, Thor's eyes are disappointed

– I believed you were better).

"A king does not pick and choose which tasks to fulfill as he pleases, and neither will Thor."

Loki tries to reiterate. "The resulting minor strain in Asgard's relationship with Vanaheim is still better than how badly this would have ended if he had handled it the way he intended. More practice in lower-risk circumstances – "

"Either you distrust his ability to learn how to protect this kingdom, or you harbour a childish jealousy in seeing him do so! It is not your right to teach him how to govern."

Loki feels the air become heavier with the rising feelings of the others – how envious, how condescending, how spiteful he must always be. Of Thor. The back of his neck burns. A hard knot tightens somewhere between his chest and throat.

But he is capable of maintaining a suitably neutral expression, even when he hears Frigga give the quietest sigh so the tight knot elevates to the top of his throat.

"It's my right to help – "

"Your selfish actions did _not_ help – !"

"And it's my right too to protect this kingdom – "

"As I said, perhaps you need more faith that your brother will learn, given time – "

"This was just a bad time, and you've told us that a king needs to know how to time everything right – "

"But _you_ are not king!"

Loki's retorts die on his tongue. It has nothing to do with the way Odin's eye finally snaps with impatience, or how he jabs a finger at Loki at the word _you_ , or how his voice rises enough to birth clamorous echoes so it is like a dozen Odins are rebuking him. Rather, Thor has decided to leave without another word. Their eyes meet before he does. Thor's look guarded, but Loki easily picks out the baffled hurt still smothered beneath like a raw wound beneath bandages. He hopes Thor sees the imploring message in Loki's own eyes. If Thor does, he blinks it away before Sif and the Warriors Three follow him out. Loki wishes he could do the same, if only to be on damage control when Thor's friends unleash their dammed up flood of questions and conclusions outside.

He remembers to hate the fact that, if Thor were in his place, Odin would have granted him the dignity of having everyone leave the room first. As it were, Loki practically heard when the disgust had begun to stew in their – _Thor's_ – friends' brains. Frigga may let him try later explaining to her privately, before giving a calmer echo of his father's lecture to add to his growing collection. He is afraid to think of how strongly Thor's mind echoes his friends' sentiments.

"You are forbidden to travel to other realms without my express permission for the rest of this autumn. Heimdall will be watching you particularly closely."

"And as usual," Odin lets his ire simmer down until some fatherly weariness takes its place, like spring replacing winter. "Loki, just try to stay out of trouble."

The lecture is officially over. Loki can acquiesce to his punishment just fine, for now – he wants to perfect his concealment magic before attempting any more unauthorised excursions.

"I'll try, Father," he murmurs.

Odin snorts. "Of course you will, boy."

Loki studies the Allfather's face bordered by hair shot through with grey. It is not gentle exactly, but Loki did not expect it to be. Odin is studying him too, like calculating some invisible quantity in his younger son.

(Am I enough?)

"Retire for the night, Loki, and start anew tomorrow," is the last thing Odin says before exiting in Thor's footsteps. Frigga steps closer to take Loki's hand lightly. Her fingers are cool, smooth, and despite having being outgrown by he and Thor decades ago, around his.

"If you have more to say, I'll be around the palace for the next few days. If not…"

He had realised some time ago that he avoids noticeably looking at her whenever Odin admonishes him, in case it accidentally appears as a plea for her intervention. Loki believes she would not, but he prefers to not test that. And Thor would never be so fragile.

"…Rest well, Loki."

Frigga would never call either of them _boy_.

She exits in Odin's footsteps.

Loki watches one of the white-pink moons through the arched windows for a second, contemplating what Thor and his friends are doing. Likely, talking. Ruminating. Concluding. Thor would not want to see him anymore tonight.

He exits in Frigga's footsteps. He goes to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**The support for this story has been extremely appreciated! Thank you heaps :)**

 **By the way, Aredellith asked if Odin already knew at the start, from Heimdall, that Loki had smuggled the creatures to Midgard,** **pointing out that, if Odin did know, he maybe would have accused Loki at the start too and not involve Thor in fixing it at all, or otherwise, if Odin hadn't been told about Loki by Heimdall at the start, then he** **should be questioning why Heimdall hadn't told him immediately. Basically,** **I hadn't actually realised until Aredellith's PM about that that Heimdall w** **ould most likely have told Odin from the start, before Odin sent Loki and Thor to Midgard, so if you were also curious about this, then I guess you could assume for this story that Odin knew Loki did it but decided to wait until after the two brothers fixed the skuldagr issue (to help save any potential damage by the skuldagrs) before he disciplined Loki.**

 **Those are really long sentences.**

 **Also, a very happy New Year to you. Whether or not you were happy with 2016.**

 **...**

* * *

He does not want to speak to Loki.

He would know not the words to say.

* * *

Their friends' words from the night he and Loki returned from Midgard still run through his head.

 _What has he done this time, Thor?_

 _Does he expect to meet the royalty from other worlds in your stead every time?_

 _It's fortunate Heimdall was watching…_

 _What has he done this time, Thor?_

 _…_

 _Why?_

Thor had not been able to help but find solace in their discourse.

( _Why?_ )

Despite that he did not exactly know how to answer that question.

* * *

Thor is used to Loki finding no courage to be in his company after their disputes. And this time, surely even Loki realises how obviously in the wrong he had been. Thor is sure his brother can sense his simmering resentment, because he detects only whispers of Loki's presence around the palace for a few days.

A slip of dark coattails. The heel of a black boot.

The shimmer of a dying illusion.

The annoyed yelp of a joke victim. Clearly, Loki is not repentant enough to deny himself his usual childish hobbies.

* * *

He sees Loki's face for the first time in days, as his brother walks from the other end of the corridor. Loki turns a corner too soon for Thor to catch his expression.

* * *

He and Loki share a tiny, inane wordplay joke that both swear he did not start: 'Thor' would always 'thaw' first whenever they argued.

Thor always finds it a source of momentary humour when they are not arguing, and a source of undignified annoyance when they are.

* * *

From around the corner, there is a surprised yell and the sound of someone pounding at a locked door. Thor automatically speeds up curiously, forgetting temporarily he is on his way to spar with the Warriors Three.

It is his first time seeing Loki properly since discovering his manipulation of the Vanaheim meeting.

Thor recognises their army general's severely short copper hair and burly neck from behind. Gunnar is retracting his fist after slamming the door, warily leaning back. The head of a heavy white serpent with swirling yellow eyes protrudes from a hole where the door handle would be. Loki leans against the wall before the clearly irate man, ignoring the snake. Thor notices they are at the entry to the guards' main quarters.

"Pardon me, my friend, but I believe I said not to give those orders," Loki is saying.

"Yes, Prince," the general grits his teeth on the royal title "and a very amusing practical joke of yours yet again. But I _am_ head of the guards, so please… _unlock_ … this door." The serpent's tongue flickers out, disproportionately fat and dripping a thin, fizzing liquid.

"It wasn't a joke, but thank you anyway. I repeat, the queen insists you do not transfer the security from the next consultation with Vanaheim to the castle's first perimeter."

Thor heard Frigga has been cautious of any possible tension between Asgard and Vanaheim since the last meeting, which – in the Vanaheim council's eyes – Thor had not deemed important enough to attend. Were it not for the mention of their mother, Thor would interrupt the conversation before him and direct Loki to let Gunnar through.

"And as I responded, the Vanaheim princes may take _offence_ to the level of security at the next convention, adding to their concern regarding the last." The obligatory politeness in Gunnar's tone is as thin as the skin of an apple over his exasperation. Loki appears oblivious, nonetheless.

He answers, "It's the normal level they're accustomed to seeing in Asgard. Queen Frigga wants to maintain it, rather than you grouping your sentinels above the normal density where they aren't currently needed."

"Then, Prince, please let me through so I may speak with her about this myself."

"That's a wonderful idea. She's with the Allfather in the main consult chamber." Loki advises. When the other man remains, Loki adds, "You know there's no route through this door to the main consult chamber." Loki strokes the pale nose of the snake absently, and it halfway closes its eyes serenely.

After Gunnar leaves, Thor watches Loki retract his hand – the normal door handle is in place, as usual. Loki notices Thor at the corner. He says, "I was probably ruder than necessary, but I just really don't like his haircut" before continuing down the hallway.

Before he can force it away, Thor feels a smile shape his mouth. He cannot tell if it amuses or annoys him.

* * *

When the banquet hall doors swing open for Thor, he spots his little brother already seated in an insignificant position at one of the long dining tables close to the chamber wall. He is a tiny sliver of black clothing and pale skin under the high ceiling, which showers the burnished gold floor with white candlelight.

It is unusual that Loki is at dinner so early, with only a few others peppering the rows of banquet tables like the first few flowers at the start of spring. Evidently, Loki came prepared for solitude, a thick book the size of his palm open where his plate should be.

* * *

Several nights ago when they had recaptured the skuldagrs, Thor had heard their friends' discussion continue after he had left them. Hushed, perhaps in case Thor still felt obligated to defend his brother. Thor had heard only a little.

 _It's more malice than mischief these days._

 _He's_ always _been jealous of Thor._

* * *

There is a much vaster figure in Thor's periphery that prompts some cries of welcome from the diners already seated. Volstagg catches his eye across the hall and waves. Fandral and Sif enter a minute later, Fandral guffawing at something she has said.

The three of them sitting together, they wave at Thor to join. He pauses.

Loki has wedged a bookmark between the pages of the miniscule book before shutting and pocketing it. Two women are settled on either side of the youngest prince, with a marginally wider berth than necessary. Thor sighs.

* * *

 _The days had felt strange without encountering his brother at least once. They had fought more times than he – and Frigga – can count, and any resulting days apart had always felt sour._

 _He used to think it was the aftertaste of their arguments, until he realised the feeling eased upon re-encountering his brother._

* * *

Loki must already know Thor is approaching, because he glances up despite having ignored the other Asgardians passing behind him to fill the seats.

"Hungry so early?" Thor asks as he sits beside Loki. The woman next to him slides over to give him more room, smiling warmly.

"Being fashionably late is more your style," Loki replies.

Thor frowns. "What about being on time?"

"Too predictable."

"Oh, of course." He sees Loki peer at him sideways for a moment with an unreadable expression.

"What?" He asks.

Loki says, "This is unusual. You're not outwardly angry. It's only been ten days." The number is exaggerated with an offhand tone.

This is coming from the one who lashes out with tricks and deceit. Thor raises his eyebrows. "Would you rather I yell and flip this table over now?"

"No," Loki says, after pretending to consider it. "But you're still stewing inside."

Thor is about to respond but Sif and Volstagg appear at his other side as Fandral lowers himself opposite the two brothers. If they are slightly perplexed at Thor's sudden gesture for them to join he and Loki instead, they hide it.

The people around them begin to reach for the platters of rich meat, bread and fruit that Volstagg has not yet started on. Some minutes later, Hogun joins them wordlessly.

"And where were you these fine past ten minutes, Hogun?" Fandral says. He washes down a mouthful of bread with some blackberry wine as Hogun answers in his gruff tone.

"I had just left a brief discussion with our queen and king. They suspected the Vanaheim princes were wondering why Thor did not see them earlier instead of our queen, but today the princes decided to ask if anything is amiss with our relations with their kingdom."

The following silence would be merely awkward if they were feeling a little more benevolence towards Loki. As if to fully appreciate the animosity abruptly chilling the air, Loki slowly places his knife and fork down, though the food on his plate looks barely touched anyway.

"And what did you tell them?" Loki looks at Hogun, speaking for the first time during the meal. Hogun keeps his eyes on his own dish.

"I could truthfully say that nothing is amiss, seeing as they did not speak of the relations within Asgard's own palace." Hogun answers pointedly, biting a chunk of tender meat from the tip of his knife.

"Hm, there isn't only one who can twist his way around words," Fandral murmurs into his chalice under his breath as he sips wine.

"I hope you actually know what you speak of for once, Fandral." Loki chews his first bite of food. "You arrived only after my explanation of events, and it's not as if you stuck around to hear me out anytime afterwards."

"Events." Sif's undertone asks Loki if he thinks them all idiots. "Speak straight, Loki, and just call them your _actions_.

"Thor told us what happened, and he'd heard it from you. And we witnessed Odin speak with you about it. Surely you will still agree their word is sincere and straightforward enough." The hard line of her mouth dares Loki to contradict her with Thor sitting right there. Before Thor can say anything, Loki utters bitterly, "Thor has not heard my explanation either."

Some of the goodwill for Loki that had returned to Thor suddenly vapourises. He sighs, as though the distortions of Loki's reasoning are physically taxing him too.

"I was there when you told Father everything," he says. "So you mean to say your recount differs from listener to listener?"

Loki's eyebrows lift coldly as he says, "Father has his ways of demanding my explanations whilst not truly letting me speak to him. I only told him what happened."

"In most cases, that would be enough," Volstagg chimes in, still serene being so surrounded by dishes.

"In all cases, you should listen to why things happened."

"And yet, most would agree that _actions_ indicate more about one's heart than their words do," Volstagg retorts.

"The _heart_ indicates the most about the heart," Loki deadpans. "Actions do speak, but many are so misinterpreted you may as well listen to words."

"Maybe there are some exceptions to that," Sif says pointedly.

"My words are truthful enough when it comes to my family."

" _Most_ of your lies are to do with your family – " Fandral starts.

Loki stares at him so coldly Thor fears for a moment that poison will magically work its way into Fandral's drink. Sif shushes Fandral, trying to calm the conversation. Thor realises a few people around them have paused in their eating, half-watching the argument.

"Loki," Thor begins through gritted teeth. "You told Father that you secretly lured the skuldagrs into Midgard to prompt him into sending us two to bring them back, yes? So that a more _tactful_ representative, like Mother, would see the Vanaheim princes in my place. Is that not all?"

"It's easier to tell Father simple facts – at least he hears parts of my justification. Otherwise, if I try to include the intentions I had, he cuts me off and I end up with nothing at all in the official _records_. Then he will hear only the version of events as told by others, and I'm worse off." Thor realises the short spiel is directed only at him this time, almost beseechingly, though Loki seems to be muttering it at his full dinner plate.

There is a lull – Thor has the chance to respond. But he does not know what to say.

"I wish to speak with my brother myself about what he did," he says eventually, to their friends. "Let's enjoy the rest of this meal together tonight without incident."

* * *

Loki can read the disgust on their faces even as they focus their gazes on the elegant piles of seed cakes and colourful candied fruit, which are set down by elegant servers.

 _How gracious Thor is towards you now,_

 _Yet you still have to act like an underhanded,_

 _victimised_

 _bastard._

He would admire their devotion to Thor more if they were not so blinded.

"I change my mind. I wish you had just flipped the table."

* * *

"Strange that you are our peacekeeper tonight, Thor, after what you fumed about Loki the night you returned from Midgard," remarks Sif.

Thor would wonder if Loki even realised what she had said if his little brother did not reply with "I can be another peacekeeper, if you would like."

Loki gets to his feet, food still whole on his plate save for one bite. He leaves without another word.

The sounds of his footsteps are immediately swallowed by the clamour of other Asgardians still dining and chatting. After a brief pause, Fandral comments, "I think that went rather well, all things considered."

"You know he is just being… sensitive," Hogun says reassuringly, albeit also gruffly, to Thor.

"If only he were so sensitive during his plotting to meddle in Asgard's dealings with other realms," Sif murmurs around a slice of plum. "And in your training for kingship, Thor."

Again, Thor has the opportunity to speak. He still does not know what to say.


	6. Chapter 6

Thor hesitates with the silver doorknocker an inch away from the dark wood, and an inch from announcing his request for audience.

 _Perhaps you need more faith that your brother will learn_

 _More practice in lower-risk circumstances –_

Thor huffs angrily before he drops the doorknocker in favour of wrenching the doorknob like he is breaking a pheasant's neck. The polite _clunk_ of the doorknocker is lost amid the _crash_ as he enters brusquely.

To his surprise, his brother has only a single lamp kindled, scattering shards of shaking darkness around the room like rain or rose petals. Where the gloom doesn't spatter, amber lamplight sharpens curves and otherwise invisible angles – the curtain folds alternate with stripes of jet black and amber-stained blue, and the bedspread looks like the surface of a rippling gold lake. The corners of the chamber look so defined that the sight of Loki sitting on the otherwise bare carpet makes Thor think of a Midgardian jack-in-the-box. Albeit, an extremely surly one that would never be bequeathed upon any child.

"I didn't do it."

Thor does not know why Loki chooses to look so vulnerable only with his older brother around, yet so rude to their friends. It would cause much less difficulty for all if he would simply wear his heart on his sleeve.

"Make up your mind, Brother. You didn't send the skuldagrs to Midgard with the intention of making me miss the Vanaheim meeting?" He doubts even Loki can lie well enough to make anyone believe that now.

"I didn't do it for the reasons they think."

Thor moves to sit beside him on the rug. The lamplight licks and dances over Thor's skin and clothes; his shadow covers Loki like a landslide. "I believe we have yet to speak of the incident properly."

"I couldn't agree more. All that brainless arguing and Father's yelling is hardly proper discussion."

"I mean you and I when I say 'we'" Thor is rolling his eyes already. "But you know Father and our friends are just trying to keep things in the right."

If more anger stirs in Loki's eyes, Thor cannot see it from the shadow-smeared profile view he has of him, as Loki still stares straight ahead.

"Of course they are. Well, what else is there to discuss, Brother? You believe them wholly, and me not at all."

"You imply _they_ lie?" On behalf of their father and friends, Thor lets some resentment flare in him.

"They say _I_ did," Loki clarifies.

"You _did_ lie – "

"I refer to lying about _why_ I released the skuldagrs so Mother instead would go to Vanaheim." Loki bites out. "Not the fact that I did."

"Sif and the Warriors said you are just – "

From his shroud of Thor's shadow, Loki looks at him expectantly, which stills Thor's tongue. He is unsure why. It is not as if Loki does not know their friends occasionally say that he was only envious of them. That he had wished for Thor to not be so representative of Asgard in the eyes of other realms. Had only claimed to trick them out of his concern for the good of Asgard, because Thor lacked the delicacy for such matters. So Thor does not know why he falls into hesitant silence now.

"Always listen to why, Thor. Not merely what." Loki's flash of defensive anger dispels, but something gloomier takes its place. "If you can spare the time. It's the only way you'll ever understand – "

In this sentence, Thor hears the implicit condescension and his anger flickers again. "Understand what? How to rule? How to deceive? How to – "

"No," Loki says resignedly. "Just me."

Through his window, Loki's gaze surfs the pearly layers of stars and clouds that veil the outlines of distant planets. "Even when actions speak loudly they can be so terribly misconstrued…" He could be speaking to the sky.

He turns to look at Thor, not quite a glare, but piercingly enough even in the flickering darkness to capture all of Thor's thoughts with the two bright green nets. Like insects to be later pinned down and examined beneath a light.

Thor finally says, "They would be more receptive to your activities if you were not so sly about it all – "

"Recall that I did try to reason with you about using more tact _well_ before the creatures appeared in Midgard."

"There is nothing wrong with the power I planned to assert."

"Yet Mother's subtle, elegant tactics succeeded perfectly."

"That means not mine would have failed!" Thor retorted. "You need more openness to others' ways of operating, Loki."

Another spasm of annoyance scrunches Loki's face. " _You_ are telling _me_ –?"

Thor decides to cut in before it can ignite more quarreling. It would be best if tonight they just rested. "Fine, fine, Brother, why do we not just disagree peacefully for now?"

Loki closes his mouth, still irritated. "You seem awfully into peacekeeping lately, Thor. Did the skuldagrs get your head as well as your neck? They did have _multiple_ opportunities to, after all."

Thor scoffs. "Perhaps you should allow me to join the next gathering with other realms, then."

They fall silent again.

"I didn't do it," Loki repeats. Thor watches his face sink into the stubborn sullenness Loki had worn when Thor had first entered.

"I believe you," he says reassuringly.

Loki remains quiet. When Thor looks at his brother, Loki's eyes are green knives pinning down the truth in Thor's brain. But not quivering as thrown knives often did upon piercing their target – he suspects Loki knew it without the waver of doubt: "No, you don't."

It is ridiculous that Thor feels guilt for lying about something so trivial as that, so he lets his exasperation override it – Loki had, after all, deceived them all. Why right had he to feel self-righteous if Thor did not believe him?

"Well, Loki, you _did_ – "

"Shut up, Thor."

The command _shut up_ nearly always provokes the opposite reaction from Thor. But this time he decides to let out the rest of his annoyance as a silent breath instead of words. Sometimes it is just too trying to deal with Loki's enigmatic thinking. 'Baby' brother was often an apt badge for him.

"I forgive you," Thor rephrases, hoping this will elude further squabbling. Surely Loki could forgive lesser wordsmiths on occasion.

He gets no reply. When Thor looks at his brother, Loki just looks away. He is just a jet-black silhouette, with the back of his hair instead of his pale face turned towards Thor.

"Close enough," Loki says in clipped tones. He is expressionless for a few seconds. Thor cannot tell what runs through his brother's head now. Not that this is unusual. Nonetheless, he is relieved when Loki shrugs lightly – Thor can take this to cue the end of Loki's irrational sulking.

"Do you not still hunger for dinner, Loki? You left quite dramatically before reaching your second mouthful, I recall."

He never admits that he misses Loki's cheer in the hours – or days – after their harsher fights.

"Yes, but there'll be no tidbits left on tonight's plates," Loki replies. "Volstagg was present." He rises to his feet, the lamplight painting him from the crown of his head downwards as he does. "I'll be back shortly."

Thor clambers up quickly too. "Wait for me. Stealing food from the kitchens is the debauchery of yours I approve of."

* * *

Loki had lit the main bedchamber lights for their meal, so no more haphazard shadows flay the chamber, or them. The colours of his room jump out at Thor, more homely than the half-darkness, half-lamplight limbo. Smooth hickory walls, sea-blue curtains, pale gold rug, and the soft white bedspread.

Thor crams the last oatcake, slathered with spiced red jam, halfway into his mouth. He chews that half before shoving in the other, much to Loki's disgust.

"I hate it when you eat in my room."

Thor shrugs, leaning back against one of the bedposts. "You still let me."

"So show me some civility in return."

Still chewing, Thor proffers the sticky glass jar of leftover jam. The silver spoon handle swivels around the rim with the movement, gathering a small glob of goop.

"Never mind." Loki begins enchanting the stolen plates and cutlery spotless before vanishing them back to the kitchens. "You lack such basic social finesse."

Thor snorts. " _You_ want to lecture me on social graces – ?"

"Obviously, I mean other qualities besides popularity. When we were younger, I wondered if that would make ruling more difficult for you."

"And now what do you think?"

"It certainly makes _my_ life more difficult…"

Thor laughs, with a jab at Loki's ribs. "Sheltered prince, you've never had a truly difficult day in your lifetime."

Loki grins. "No, of course not."

* * *

It occurs to Thor how strange it is that Loki was in a place as obvious as his bedchamber, after the hostility with their friends at dinner. Usually, Thor would be unable to find Loki for at least hours afterwards, for his brother would silently flit from obscure place to obscurer place, like the shadow of a sprite. Thor would only see him as Loki dictated, and he would be met by a somewhat prim smile, which would melt into sincerity eventually.

Only with Thor, though. Only Thor could thaw someone so cold.

(He watched Loki smile as they ate and talked).

It occurs to Thor that perhaps Loki wanted to be found, once in a while.

* * *

When Thor opens his eyes next, it is to darkness and stillness. He slowly makes out the gloom-covered objects of Loki's room. Their strange angles, and stiffness in his spine, let him know he still sits upon the floor, slumping against the bed. The starlight over his shoulder tells him his brother is also still beside him, dark head resting against the mattress edge and chest moving lightly with quiet breaths. Thor thinks he can see a small frown creasing Loki's brow. It remains there whichever way Thor sleepily tilts his head.

There is a soft _click_ as the bedchamber door some feet away eases open.

Tawny light from the hallway spills onto the floor as a thin sliver. Thor watches through sleep-ridden eyes as their mother enters. When she approaches, their eyes level with each other through the shadows. She smiles tenderly. She stoops down, Thor feeling a gentle kiss touch his temple, then sees her place one on Loki's white cheek. She stops to straighten something on the bedside table, before simply exiting as silently as she had come. It feels like being visited by an angel.

Thor stares at the tears on the bedcover's surface next to his face. They had not been there when he woke, sitting like three broken diamonds on the starlit cloth. He slowly lifts a finger, and touches them one by one. They sink like tiny, capsizing icebergs, leaving behind silver-grey circles on the pale fabric.

Before he can make sense of them, sleep laps over his senses again.

The worry on his brother's face is the last thing he sees before morning.

* * *

Thor suspects Frigga had not known he was in Loki's room last night. So he suspects she had been checking on her younger son on previous nights this week, which makes him strangely envious.

Then again, for the past few days, Loki had probably needed the company.


	7. Chapter 7

**Last chapter now :)**

 **Short, and hopefully sweet enough.**

* * *

Do my senses deceive me?

Loki muses on the two-man scene before him.

Of course not. The Liesmith would see through any such deceit even if his senses tried in earnest.

"No," Thor is saying to Odin. "Loki and I will both accompany her this time."

Loki is about to store away his surprise and curiosity for later, but Thor's friends and the Allfather all turn their gazes to him like the points of their weapons – he lets his reaction shape his expression to better depict innocence. He can tell everyone else also notices the renowned determination underpinning Thor's bearing. Judging from their own demeanors, none of them know where it came from.

But after a thoughtful few seconds, their father turns to Frigga as he tells her, "Well then, tonight you should properly inform these two of the discussion with Vanaheim's princes thus far."

Thor betrays himself by letting relief and gratitude dilute his look of resolve. Then he beams, which outshines all three other expressions.

Loki watches Frigga restrain her own proud smile as she nods. "I don't doubt Loki and Thor have already found out somehow. If they have any other input for the next meeting, we'll report to you beforehand." Odin inclines his head in return before she leaves the chamber.

"So, Loki. This journey to Vanaheim will be an exception to your ban from leaving Asgard for the remainder of autumn." Odin has the same calculating sharpness in his eye from before, as he surveys both of his sons.

Afterwards, Loki speculates only briefly that Thor's display of generosity will serve to make his friends dislike him even more.

* * *

The air has a cool bite as they walk ankle-deep in the ruddy carpet of fallen leaves. Next to Thor, Loki comments, "In case you've not realised, the others wonder what the Hel had gotten into you during today's report with Father."

Thor kicks a few orange leaves in his path, their ends curled and brittle, as he thinks of how to reply. He just says, "I think I'll need you there."

"They don't think that."

(But, as they stand there, Loki does not seem to overly mind).

Thor blinks. Then he insists, "I'll tell them. I'll need your assistance understanding why Mother will say what she says to the princes, and why they will respond the way they do, and if you will think any of those are good ideas."

Loki gives him an indecipherable look as he snags a fluttering yellow leaf out of the air before his nose. "You're in an unusually inquisitive mood today."

He crumples up the leaf like a useless idea, and discards it over his shoulder.

"I have time to spare today." Thor makes his shrug nonchalant. "I can be inquisitive."

(The only way to understand).

"I don't look forward to the days you're very busy, then."

This silences Thor, but Loki just adds thoughtfully, "I suppose this hence sounds treasonous, but I think you'll be always busy as king."

"I will make more time," Thor swears.

To lighten the mood, he grins and exclaims, "I'll be king! I can do what I want."

"That is a wonderful attitude to start with as king."

"It will help me understand." Thor waits for Loki to ask what he wishes to understand.

Loki doesn't. He just catches another autumn leaf as they walk.

This time, he gently lets it go.

Thor realises Loki does not need ask, when his little brother just answers,

"Thank you."

* * *

 **I guess this was just a (mostly) chilled-out fic that I wanted to give a comforting ending. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Thank you for reading! And for giving feedback, if you did :) (But just reading is still perfect). All your words made my days, or made them start off really, really well.**


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